Chapter 5
"Wait, what?!" Anne asked as the Plantars unloaded the supplies from Joe's back. "You're going on another mission?! Now?!"
"Yeah. General Yunan is a good friend of mine, and I don't feel comfortable letting her go on a mission like this on her own." Marcy explained. "She can get a bit… full of herself… and that often leads to problems."
"…So you want to go and watch her back, I got it." Anne said. "Just like how I always watched your back when we were home!"
"Exactly!" Marcy said. "Knew you'd understand! This shouldn't take too long, and we should be back for dinner!"
"Ok, ok… but do you want me to come?" Anne asked.
"No no! You stay here and get ready for tomorrow!" Marcy said. "Besides, I think you and Hop Pop need some time before we are ready to go, after what happened yesterday."
"… Alright fine." Anne said. "Just… promise me you'll be careful?"
"Of course!" Marcy said.
"Ok… Yunan was it?" Anne asked.
"Yes! I am General Yunan, scourge of the sand wars, defeater of Ragnar the Wretched and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian army!" Yunan said really quickly, trying to not waste much time.
"Uh… right… anyways, just take care of Marcy, ok? I'm sure you noticed, but she can be a bit…"
"Clumsy?"
"Yeah."
"Oh come on Anna-Banana! I've been getting better!" Marcy said.
"Yeah, well I still worry!" Anne said. "Alright… get going. We'll see you tonight."
"Right!" Marcy said before giving Anne a kiss on the cheek and jumping onto Joe's back. "See you later!"
Yunan followed suit, minus the kiss, and just like that, they were off.
"Why did you lie to her?" Yunan asked.
"What makes you think I lied?" Marcy asked.
"Cause I know you Lady Marcy. You wanted to come because of the lieutenant, didn't you?" Yunan asked.
"I… yeah." Marcy conceded. "I think… the lieutenant might be my friend Sasha."
"Ah, the third human in your group." Yunan deduced. "Would make sense."
"She and Anne had a big fight a while back and… well… I want to see if I can convince Sasha to try and make up with Anne." Marcy explained. "This way, the worst thing that happened to us here would be… well… forgiven."
"While the optimism is nice Lady Marcy, please, try to not get your hopes up too much." Yunan said. "Remember, General Grime is a criminal. If she's decided to stay with him, that must mean that she too is…"
"Please don't say that…" Marcy pleaded. "I want to believe that Sasha is still a good person… I really do."
"… Very well." Yunan said. "That being said, I have to put my mission first… and if I have to fight your friend to achieve that goal…"
"Then please… try not to hurt her." Marcy pleaded.
"Of course."
When they arrived at the area where Grime and Sasha were last seen, Yunan quickly went to work tracking them down, while Marcy searched from the sky.
Eventually though, she saw a bunch of trees fall in the distance.
"Shoot… I was hoping I'd find them first…" Marcy groaned out to herself.
She quickly flew over there with Joe, only to find a field with an empty cottage, as well as several fallen trees.
"So Joe… do you think these got cut down during a struggle, or Yunan was showing off again?" Marcy asked the bird.
Joe just gave her a deadpanned look.
"… She was showing off, got it."
Then, she noticed the two straw dolls that were in pieces… and they looked suspiciously like Anne and Sprig.
"Ugh… I really hope I can get through to her…" Marcy said as she hopped back onto Joe.
Upon taking off, she quickly began looking again.
Before long, she noticed a couple more trees that were chopped down, most likely by Yunan.
"Come on Sasha… please be ok…"
Eventually, she found Sasha and Grime…
The former of which was currently pinned down by Yunan.
"Yunan you idiot! What did I tell you?!" Marcy said to herself.
Thankfully for Sasha, Grime managed to sneak up on the newt, and pushed her off the cliff.
"Ok Joe, let me down, and go help Yunan… don't come back up until I call you... or I fall off the cliff… ok?" Marcy requested.
Joe just nodded before going down for a landing.
"And I am Captain Grime! Drinker of Bog-Grog! Grower of beards AND-"
"Currently caught by me." Marcy said as she quickly tied a rope around Grime's arms and kicked out his legs.
When Sasha turned around, she just stared at Marcy in shock.
"Well then… wasn't expecting this…" Grime said from the ground.
"… Marcy?"
"Hey Sash… I missed you." Marcy said with a smile.
"Marcy… please… let him go." Sasha requested.
"In a bit… I want to talk to you first." Marcy said. "I promise… when I am done, I'll let you both go."
"… Fine." Sasha said as she sat on the ground. "So… where've you been?"
"Newtopia." Marcy said. "I… became the chief ranger there."
"Really?! Dang girl! That's impressive!" Sasha said.
"I'll say! I've heard rumors about her, and her perfect record!" Grime said. "Had no idea she was your other friend though Sasha, honest."
"Yeah, figured as much." Sasha said. "So... what do you want to talk to me about?"
"What? I can't just want to catch up with my best friend?" Marcy asked.
"If you did, you wouldn't of tied up Grime… now spill it." Sasha pointed out.
"I… I already know about what happened between you and Anne." Marcy said.
"… Oh…" Sasha said as she crossed her arms and turned away. "Should of figured you'd find her first…"
"Sasha… please, come back with me to Wartwood! If you apologize to Anne, I'm sure that…"
"Stop Marcy." Sasha said. "There's nothing you can say that'll make me want to do that."
"Why though?" Marcy asked. "Anne's you're… our best friend! Why wouldn't you want to make up with her?!"
"She's not my best friend any more…" Sasha said.
"Don't say that! I know you still care about her Sasha, so please! Tell me!" Marcy pleaded.
At this point, Sasha was getting annoyed.
"Cause she chose those stupid frogs over me, OK?!" Sasha shouted.
Marcy just looked at her in shock.
"She decided that the frogs that she barely knew were more important than her best friend since like, forever!" Sasha said. "And soon enough, she'll choose them over you too."
"She won't do that." Marcy said.
"How do you know that?" Sasha asked.
"Because I won't make her do that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasha said.
"… How about this Sasha." Marcy said as she loaded an arrow into her crossbow, and pointed it at Grime's head.
"Hey! We had a deal!" Sasha shouted.
"Yeah, well, I changed my mind." Marcy said. "Either you agree to come with me, and apologize to Anne… or I shoot."
"What?! Are you crazy?!" Sasha asked.
"No… I'm giving you a choice." Marcy explained. "You either choose your best friend in this world… or your best friends from home. One of us will be gone from your life forever, no matter what you choose…"
"But… that's…"
"Not fair, right?" Marcy asked. "I am a jerk for making you choose something like this… right?"
"Uh, Yeah?! What did you think I was gonna say?!"
"Tell me Sasha… how is this any different from what you made Anne do?"
Sasha… didn't have anything to say to that.
"Anne will never choose the Plantars over me… because I will never make her choose." Marcy explained. "The Plantars make Anne happy… so I am happy to know the Plantars… shouldn't you feel the same?"
And Sasha… actually looked upset about this, as she put on a face that Marcy knew only meant one thing.
'Checkmate'
"… What do you want me to do?" Sasha asked.
Marcy smiled at this.
"Come with me back to Wartwood… talk with Anne and try and make up with her… then, we'll all go and find a way home… together!" Marcy explained.
"And Grime?" Sasha asked.
"… I never saw him." Marcy said as she used her arrow to cut Grime's ropes.
"Ok…" Sasha said with a sigh. "Sorry Grime, but…"
"Sasha, you can do whatever you wish." Grime said as he rubbed his wrists. "Just know that it's been an honor…"
"Thanks Grime…" Sasha said as she looked to Marcy, who had her back turned as she looked to the sky.
…
…
…
"And it will continue to be."
Sasha then suddenly grabbed Marcy's cloak, before throwing her towards the cliff.
"Oof… Sasha?! What are you do-"
Then, Sasha grabbed her cloak from the clasp on the front, before pushing Marcy towards the cliff, so she was barely standing on it.
"Sorry Mar-Mar… but I can't do that." Sasha said.
"Sasha…" Marcy said, tears forming in her eyes.
"I'll admit… you gave me a lot to think about." Sasha said. "And I will think about it… but for now, I am gonna keep doing things my way."
"But…"
"Later Mar-Mar."
And with that, she let go.
"SASHA!" Marcy shouted as she fell towards the water below.
Just then, Joe Sparrow swooped in and caught Marcy before she could fall into the water.
"Lady Marcy! Are you alright?!" Yunan asked.
"I…"
"Don't worry! We'll catch them! Onwards Joe Spa-"
"No… let's just go back to Wartwood." Marcy said, her hair concealing her eyes.
"What?! But…"
"Please Yunan… let's just… go…" Marcy pleaded.
"… Very well…" Yunan said.
And then… she began to cry… before she began sobbing as Yunan did her best to comfort her friend.
Meanwhile, Sasha just watched as they flew away into the sunset.
"You aren't actually going to think about what she said, are you?" Grime asked.
"Not really, but I need them to think that I will." Sasha said. "Who knows… we might need their trust in the future."
"And if she tells Anne about what happened here today?" Grime asked.
"She won't… she wants us all to be friends again more than anything." Sasha explained. "And she knows that if she tells Anne without giving me the chance to think… then any hope of that happening will be out the window."
"Huh… clever." Grime said. "Now then…"
"You want to finish watching Suspicion Island, don't you?" Sasha asked.
"Yes please!"
"Ugh… Fine." Sasha said. "But after that, we are planning our next move!"
"Deal!"
And with that, Grime began running back to the cottage.
"… Sorry Marcy…"
Sasha really did have a lot to think about…
But she wouldn't let Grime know that.
"Look! Here they come!" Anne said as she saw Joe Sparrow approach from the distance.
When Joe landed, Marcy quickly dismounted, and Anne immediately knew something was wrong.
"Marcy?! What happened?!" Anne asked, easily noticing the fact that Marcy looked very upset.
"Oh uh… we… failed the mission." Marcy lied. "I tripped and fell off a cliff… and that gave them the chance they needed to get away."
"Oh Marcy…" Anne said as she pulled her in for a hug. "It's ok, those criminals will be brought to justice one day!"
"Yeah! After all, Marcy Wu is on the case, right?" Sprig asked.
"… Yeah… but first, let's get these gems charged, ok?" Marcy asked.
"Right! Tomorrow, we depart for the first temple!" Anne said. "Now come inside, we have some dinner ready for you!"
"Thanks Anne…" Marcy said.
"If it's all the same, I should be on my way." Yunan said. "I promised the King I would look into a few inquiries on my way back to Newtopia, so I better get going."
"Thanks again Yunan." Marcy said.
"Think nothing of it Lady Marcy. I wish you well on your quest!" Yunan said as she turned and left.
"… She's really weird." Anne pointed out.
"Yeah, but she's reliable." Marcy said with a smile.
"I guess…"
And with that, Anne went back inside.
'Dang it Sasha… what am I going to do now?' Marcy thought. 'If you two made up… then maybe I could tell you guys without any issues… ugh, why do you have to be so difficult?!'
"Marbles? You coming?" Anne asked.
"Y-yeah! I'm coming!" Marcy said as she went inside, wondering when she'll see Sasha again.
End of Chapter 5
Chapterly reminder to let me know if I did anything offensive towards the LGBTQ+ community. I will work to fix it immediately upon being informed.
I really wanted to write out a confrontation between Marcy and Sasha before they meet up at the third temple. Then I had the idea of Marcy tagging along with Yunan while she went after Grime, and things just kinda evolved from there.
I decided I want to do something fun! For season 3 I actually have something very specific, and very BIG planned… I want to see if you guys can guess what it is! Will I tell you if you got it right? Maybe, maybe not, but at this point I am expecting no-one to guess it. So, get to guessing!
Speaking of Season 3, I actually have most of the story drafted for it now, and have now begun drafting the final act of the story! Some things will change from the drafts of course, with what has happened in the most recent episode (Olivia and Yunan) but it is coming along nicely! Can't wait to share it with you all!
Just letting you know, there is going to be a HUGE jump forward after this chapter. The next chapter will take place during The Third Temple… yeah, not the first or second temple… the third one. Thing is… this is the point where Marcy pretty much became a staple in the story. As such, not much would really change up until then, just the fact that Anne and Marcy are a bit more clingy.
I know a lot of you wanted to see something from other episodes, and I did legit try and write a couple of them out, but there really wasn't much I could think of, so I scrapped a bunch of it. That being said, next chapter is when things start to get JUICY!
So, see you all next time for The Third Temple and more!